The Feeling Intellect: Selected Writings

by Philip Rieff, Jonathan B. Imber (Editor)

Collected here for the first time, these writings demonstrate the range and precision of Philip Rieff's sociology of culture. Rieff addresses the rise of psychoanalytic and other spiritual disciplines that have reshaped contemporary culture.

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy, Sociology

430 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Philip Rieff was an American sociologist, cultural critic, and scholar best known for his influential analysis of modernity and the rise of psychological culture. Born in 1922 and educated at the University of Chicago, he taught at several institutions, most notably the University of Pennsylvania. His major works include Freud: The Mind of the Moralist and The Triumph of the Therapeutic , in which he argued that Western societies were shifting from moral worlds rooted in sacred authority to therapeutic cultures concerned with personal well-being. Rieff’s later writings developed his concept of the “sacred order” and explored the consequences of its decline in contemporary life. He died in 2006, leaving a body of work that continues to shape debates about culture, religion, and the moral foundations of modern society.